Ruler of the Death Gods
by SadisticKittens
Summary: Light, newly deceased, wakes up in the realm of Shinigami. From there he must play the games and make his way to the top, claiming the throne. From there, will he be able to return to the world of the living? Will he be able to exact his revenge on the one person who should not have showed up? Or will something unexpected happen? One man's drive can only get him so far.


Darkness. The first thing he became aware of as he gained consciousness was the darkness pressing in on his eyelids. The thin fold of skin fluttered open to reveal a dreary sky riddled with angry looking clouds. Despite there being no sun, Light was still able to see as clear as day. His eyes drifted away from the sky as he sat up, his stiff muscles groaning in protest.

"You're awake." A raspy voice spoke from above.

Light startled, twisting his body around and angling his head upwards. "Huh?" He was met with a heavily wrapped body floating just above the ground, its scowling face leering down at him. _'Shinigami...?'_ Light stared directly into its one visible eye, the other covered by an eye patch. "What am I doing here?"

"You don't remember? You must have died. When your body perishes after owning a Death Note, you can no longer go to Heaven or Hell. You are doomed to spend eternity here like the rest of us."

All around was a deserted waste land riddled with broken bones, most half buried beneath infertile dirt. There were a few rotten tree stumps here and there, surrounded by groups of creatures with piles of bones next to them. On closer inspection, Light realized they must be Shinigami. He knew no other being to have such eerie appearances outside of being dead and lifeless.

 _'What happened?'_ He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. It was supposed to be a new world. A world where no one would have to live in fear. A world where no criminals existed. A world where he, Light Yagami, was God. They would know him as Kira, their savior. It would have been perfect.

 _'That's right. At least... that's how it was_ supposed _to be.'_ Light scowled. _'It would have all gone to plan if Mikami had not been so careless with the pages he had been given. That, and if L hadn't...'_ He clenched his shaking fists together, anger turning his facial expressions into something sour.

 _Mikami had burst through the giant metal doors, note in hand. He was eager to please and wrote down the names as quick as he could._

 _"How many seconds has it been since you wrote down the first name?" Light asked the grinning man._

 _Mikami looked down at his watch, crazed smile intact, and began to count. "35...36...37...38...39!"_

 _Light leered over at the albino kneeling on the floor. "Well, Near, looks like I win."_

 _"40!" Mikami yelled out with excitement._

Just like that, the envisioned new world crumpled in to dust and scattered in the wind.

 _"Didn't I already tell you all that no one was gonna die?" Near spoke sternly._

 _"But, but why!?" Mikami shouted. "Why won't they die?!"_

 _Light could do nothing but hyperventilate. He was shocked. Why had the Death Note fallen through? That had never happened before._

 _"God, I did everything you told me!" The black haired man threw his arms wildly out, panic taking hold of him._

 _From there, Near ordered for Mikami's arrest. Two of the team's men quickly subdued him before one of them delivered the note book to Near upon his request. The albino confirmed everyone's belief of Light being Kira by showing them that his name was the only one not listed._

 _"It's a trap! This whole thing is a setup!" Light jabbed his finger in Near's direction. He had no other option but to throw accusations at the younger boy. "This is all part of Near's plan to frame me!" Sweat dripped heavily down Light's face. "This is a setup, I don't know this guy!"_

 _They all refuted his attempts at covering for his mistakes. The team had witnessed events unfold and knew without a doubt that he was the mass murderer, Kira. They moved to arrest him, cuffs already moving towards sleeved wrists._

 _"Stop it!" Light swatted the handcuffs away and dove to the other side of the warehouse, leaning against the metallic wall like a trapped animal._

 _Near's point was proven. The albino just had one job left, and that was to explain how Light's plans had failed._

 _"Let's see you talk your way out of this one, if you can." The white haired boy finished, three finger puppets staring lifelessly towards the cornered male._

 _All was silent except for the whirling fan above before giggling was heard. That giggling increasingly grew into an uncontrollable laughter that only someone with an unstable mind could produce before it abruptly stopped._

 _Light once again grew serious, a menacing glint reaching his one visible eye as he hunched over. "That's right." He slowly stood straight, his features hidden in shadows. "I am Kira." He stared pointedly at Near. "And what can you do? Kill me right here? Hear this." He moved his head back. "I'm not only Kira, but I am also 'God of the New World'."_

 _"No! You're just a murderer, Light Yagami. And this Note Book is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind." Near refuted, holding up his finger puppet of Kira. "You yielded to the power of the Shinigami in the note book, and you have confused yourself with a god." He continually squeezed the puppet between his fingers. "In the end, you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are. Nothing more, and nothing less."_

 _Light was enraged by the other's words, but he had to remain calm. He had to keep a level head and remain calm in order to execute his newly formed plan. They were fools, the lot of them. He could distract them by talking and arrange himself to face away from them. During that time, he could write their name on his hidden piece of paper. That's how it was supposed to go, anyways._

 _While he attempted to open the compartment inside his watch, the warehouse door slid open again. That was no matter; he could use that as an added distraction and, wa-la! The watch clicked open. He was going to come out the victor of this little game. He would become the victor and claim title of God before the world._

Bang!

 _Light's entire body went rigid, falling lifelessly to the ground like a rag doll._ W-what?' _That was the only thought that ran through his head before it hit the ground. His face rolled to the side, getting a single glimpse at the door before his eyes slid shut one final time. The letter "L" just barely forming on his parted lips._

The brunette's eyes zeroed in on the mounds of bones before focusing on the object on the tree stump. It looked to be a chess board. Furrowing his eyebrows, Light swiveled his head to peer at the few other stumps. Each one held a different game ranging from chess to checkers to poker. _'Is this what Shinigamis do all day? Play games?'_ Light could feel the beginnings of disappointment settling in.

"Sorry, I'll have to pass on that." Light stood up to properly face the tall Shinigami. "If I'm here, that must make me a Shinigami now too, right? I'll just drop my Death Note and hope someone picks it up."

The Shinigami's lips suddenly turned upwards into a grin. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. You have to actually have a Death Note. Dropping it in the human realm is a whole other story."

"What other choice do I have? Show me where I can obtain one." The new humanoid Shinigami demanded.

"You could play for it."

"Play for a Death Note?"

The Shinigami shook his head. "Look around you. Shinigami play for the right of the throne. If you become a true God, then you wouldn't even need to give a human your Death Note to enter their realm."

Just like that, the seed of a plan began to sprout in the young man's mind. If he could go to Earth and retain his free will, then he could take revenge on L, no problem. "Where do I start?"


End file.
